Vieira brings a different World Cup vintage to Ligue 1

As Ligue 1 prepares to kick off in the glow of France’s summer triumph, Nice will be one of the clubs that can boast a World Cup winner, but theirs is of an older vintage. Patrick Vieira, the new Nice manager, is preparing for his first Ligue 1 season since 1995 AFP/YANN COATSALIOU Patrick Vieira, a member of the 1998 squad that put the first star on Les Bleus’ shirts, has succeeded Lucien Favre as manager. Vieira, who arrived in June from New York City FC of Major League Soccer, is the third member of the class of ’98 to manage in Ligue 1 after World Cup winning coach Didier Deschamps, who was at Monaco and Marseille, and Laurent Blanc, who had spells at Bordeaux and Paris Saint-Germain. Once again, Nice president Jean-Pierre Rivere has shown his knack for recruiting big names either on the bench, where Vieira follows Claude Puel and Favre or on the field where Hatem Ben Arfa, Wesley Sneijder and Mario Balotelli have all played for the club. Rivere sees Vieira as, above all, the man to build a team based on attractive football and youthful talent. “We did not recruit a name, nor a world champion, nor did we take a gamble,” said Rivere after hiring Vieira. “Our project is very clear and projects are run by men. The goal is to keep the club growing, and after 20 minutes of talking with Patrick, I told him: ‘You are exactly what we are looking for’.”… [Read full story]